tree cookies

When our small apartment-size Christmas tree wore out, we replaced it with a real goose feather tree (you can see an antique one HERE), just like Bill remembers his grandmother having. This year, we decided to only decorate it with tiny sugar cookies and candy canes . . . . the grandkids might leave one or two still on the tree by Christmas!

a good report

I drove my mother to the eye clinic Tuesday, where she's been receiving treatment for macular degeneration. For the second exam in a row, she did NOT need the injection and her eye shows improvement. Hurray!

a Christmas wish

Over the weekend, I was looking through a small collection of antique Christmas cards . . . . which sort of inspired this little sketch in my sketchbook.

I hope each of you have a very merry Christmas full of all of the Lord's blessings.

Ooops!

I've been getting several spam "comments" lately, but don't want to set security steps in place because it is so hard to read some of those codes they ask you to type in.  I want people to be able to freely comment without working so hard at it.

But as I was deleting some of the spam comments, I mistakenly deleted ALL comments that have been recently made on my blog. Sorry, friends! I really should take time to learn how this blog really works . . .

waiting to be shot

After several mis-steps and a completely wrong diagnosis re: the pain and numbness in my leg, a second opinion showed a tiny cyst on one vertebrae. Two surgeons at the Joint & Spine center in Wichita think that one steroid injection will solve the problem.

Can't wait to be able to stand and walk freely again!

EDM #279 - something that begins with the 1st letter of my last name

W is for wizard!

Not one of those wicked kind that practices black magic, but Gandolf, a proper wizard who follows the path of Eru Ilúvatar, the one God. In J.R.R. Tolkien's myths, Eru means "The One", or "He that is Alone" and Ilúvatar signifies "Father of All". (Tolkien was a devout Christian and bits of the faith can be detected all through The Lord of the Rings).

Sometimes I just want to draw something but am not particularly inspired . . . . so I do a few more Everyday Matters challenges, in the order they are listed. I began keeping sketchbooks in 2007 by doing these challenges but have never finished the list.

family Christmas dinner

The Williamson family gets together each December for a Christmas dinner, normally at a home. This year it was Elaine's turn but her house is in a bit of chaos -- so she hosted all of us at her favorite restaurant.

It was lovely seeing everyone (we had an upstairs room all to ourselves) but Bill and I really don't like their food. The two musicians were good though.

comparing burnt siennas

I recently "ditched" burnt sienna in favor of quinacridone burnt orange . . . . but wanted to make sure.

I recently picked up a couple of brands not yet tried at a recent sale, so after church I compared all those I had with q.b o., mixing them with my blues.

I love the rich color of Utrecht's b.s., but it does not seem to mix smoothly with other colors. Maimeri Blu is probably my top choice of b.s. for mixing . . . but q.b.o. is still the best for both smoothness and mixing.